The automatic tennis court drying machine (ATCDM) of the present invention is a robotic device that cooperates with stationary sensors to allow the owner/user to minimize the effort in drying the surface of a tennis court or any other flat paved surface after rain. Prior art devices are known for drying tennis courts, including manually steered, motor powered machines with a sponge roller (U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,293), hand operated sponge rollers (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,967,339 and 5,115,579) and drying machines (U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,578).
The present invention provides for the first time (to the knowledge of applicant) a fully automatic machine for drying tennis courts and other flat, paved surfaces. The present invention senses the presence of rain, the cessation of rain, and after a predetermined waiting period, automatically sponge rolls the court (or other surface). After sponge rolling, an automatic thermal imaging camera senses the location of remaining puddles or similar wet spots. The automatic, robotic unit of the invention travels to those wet spots. The robotic unit automatically sponge rolls and fan dries the remaining wet spots. The robotic unit then automatically returns to its storage unit to await further use. It is automatically recharged when stored.
A primary object of the invention is to provide an automatic system for drying a tennis court or other, flat paved surface.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the detailed description and drawings, wherein: